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Actress Kathryn Newton on Nabbing Her Role in the CW's 'Wayward Sisters'

After her breakout turn in Big Little Lies, Kathryn Newton is on a nonstop roll of roles.

An unexpected truth from Big Little Lies star Kathryn Newton: She was on a path to become a golf champion until her other great passion, acting, took precedence. “Playing as an athlete at a high level is just way harder than acting, but just like anything, you have to commit to it,” says the 20-year-old, who played Reese Witherspoon’s daughter to great effect on HBO’s Emmy-winning series. “Same thing with acting: You have to have this laser focus and this drive.”

And that’s been more than fine with both Newton and Hollywood. Lies was a major break that led to a flurry of upcoming projects—even if Newton has been working steadily since she was 4. “I felt really empowered by all the powerhouses that were there wanting to bring me up to them,” she says. “I want every project to be the same quality of work.”

Case in point: Next up is Wayward Sisters, a spinoff of The CW’s Supernatural. “I almost missed my audition, but my mom urged me out of the car,” she recalls. “I was the last one they saw, and then I got it.” Now, visiting the same Warner Bros. office to discuss the direction of the show, she says, “It was just so cool to be there—I was like, ‘I sat on that couch!’”

Newton shows off improvisational skills in Universal’s comedy Blockers (“It’s about three girls who are going through the same thing regarding losing their virginities together, and they all have different, truthful paths”) and corsets up for the BBC’s Little Women miniseries (“Amy was kind of my dream role—I didn’t realize how perfect the [character] was for me”). She admits life is pretty much work, work, work right now—and she’s cool with it. “I’m on a show, I have this team I have to work for,” she says. “I’ll worry about myself in a little bit.”